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Michaela Sander

Mrs. Layson

English 11

13 Dec. 2019

Designer Robots

When you think of designer babies, what is the first thing that pops into your head? I

would bet that the idea of a baby walking down the runway in a cute outfit probably crossed your

mind as it did mine. Sorry to tell you but that is not at all what this hot topic is about. Instead, the

idea of scientific modification should enter your mind. Should it be ok to choose your baby's

genetic makeup or is this going too far? Genetically modifying an embryo to fit a certain

standard should be limited because it is unsafe, socially unequal, and goes against the laws of

nature.

What are designer babies? Technically, designer babies are “babies whose genetic

makeup was selected or modified at the embryo stage to ensure the presence or absence of

certain characteristics”(Designer). By doing so, scientists use genetic engineering and

reproduction technologies which both take place out of the body. There are many different

reasons as to why a person chooses to take part in this technology, but the main reason one

would do so is to stop a child from inheriting a condition or disease. Other reasons one would do

so would be to alternate things like sex, athleticism, intelligence, and even hair and eye color.

Because the genetic makeup of the human body is so complex, there are many ways to go about

doing this. The process starts off in vitro fertilization (IVF). This is where human eggs are

removed from the ovary and fertilized with sperm to create the embryo. Then one or multiple
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embryos are chosen and implanted back into the uterus. This process gives access to the genetic

characteristics that can be remodeled. The next step you can choose to so is genetic screening

when scientists look for diseases or abnormalities. Then there is genetic modification which

made it possible for living organisms to be modified. The main method is called clustered

regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, best known as CRISPR. This is where scientists

are able to cut into DNA strands and either delete, replace, or place new genes in for their spot. If

used on somatic cells, the procedure only affects that one person. However, if used on

reproductive cells, the modification is then passed down on to any future generations.

The first reason why changing these characteristics of these children should be limited is

because it is unsafe. The first designer baby was born in 2000. This technology is so new that it

is impossible to know if there are side effects later on that could potentially outweigh the

benefits. When experimenting on embryos to make it possible for a concept like this to be

possible, people misunderstand the effect of doing so. If one makes a mistake or something goes

wrong, there is a high risk that those mistakes will be irreversible. DNA is such a complex

concept and something very valuable to the point of making us who we are. Modifying complex

structures like our germline is not a simple procedure; it is very dangerous. For example, when

working with the technology of the CRISPR-Cas9, “countless embryonic human beings were

killed in the process that led to the live birth of these two genetically modified children.” This

also means that “the remaining embryonic human beings are either frozen in perpetuity or

destroyed”(Anderson). Although they create healthy babies as we know of right now, many lives

are being thrown down the drain as well.

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Another reason designer babies should be limited is because they are socially unequal.

There are many reasons for this conclusion. It is not a possibility with families with financial

problems but for the rich families that can afford it. This will eventually put people in the

mindset that if you have a disability, there is something wrong with you and you must be fixed. If

a mother can have a baby and be ashamed of the disability they may have, that person is not

ready to be a mother. A baby’s characteristics should not be the deciding factor of whether the

baby is worth keeping. Others bring up the reason that it would “create a two-tiered society in

which poor people and marginalized groups would face insurmountable genetic

disadvantages”(Designer). If we teach our kids that having a disability is something to be

frowned upon and changed then who knows what the world will look like in the future. Will we

all look the same and fit the social standard of “pretty”? Or will the nation be divided by social

appearance?

Another reason that there should be limits to designer babies is because it goes against

the laws of nature. In life, everything happens for a reason. Each and every person was brought

here to prove something and make a difference. It could be considered inhumane for a parent to

choose what traits are most desireable for their child. It is not their decision to tell their child

how they need to act or look in order for them to be accepted. Many people forget the real reason

for reproduction. People should decide to have a baby because they are ready to love their child

unconditionally and accept them for who they are. That is what build a bear is for. Just because

we have the power to do so doesn’t mean we should. For instance, we have the power to steal or

cheat, but that doesn’t make it right for one to do so. Take this as an example of being inhumane.

“In early 2002 a Maryland couple announced the birth of their second child, a boy named
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Gauvin, whom they hoped would be deaf”(Poore). The reason for hoping this you ask? Being

deaf themselves, they hoped to have a baby just like them. Who in their right mind would wish a

disability on someone else just because they didn’t want to be alone? That is not how the world

should work or how we should make it work.We can’t get everything we want and some people

can’t accept that.

There is no doubt that there are advantages of designer babies. For example, they help

substantially when it comes to helping a child from suffering from a deadly genetic disease that

has yet to attack them. Our knowledge about this topic is new, but scientists are discovering

more and more about it. But when do designer babies become too much? This question has been

spreading and many opinions have arose because of it. Although designer babies do have perks,

the risks outway the benefits. Some may argue that designer babies help the physical health of

the baby, and this is true, but they are forgetting about the emotional standpoint. A person will

never feel comfortable with themselves if their emotional health is suffering. And what about the

fact that this technology is so new? There comes a point where limitations need to be enforced;

especially when it comes to physical appearance and the changing of intelligence or athleticism.

For instance, according to a survey done in 2016, 83% of people thought gene alteration should

be illegal to improve intelligence or physical characteristics. Designer babies are beneficial to a

certain point.

The problem of designer babies eventually comes down to a person's ethics. A problem

many people forget to realize is that by genetically modifying a person's characteristics, they are

initially writing someone else's life to what they think they will like. These babies are humans

just like you and I, and they do not deserve to be played with. Genetically modifying an embryo
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to fit a certain standard should be limited because it is unsafe, socially unequal, and goes against

the laws of nature. People are created to carry a purpose, not to be perfect.

Works Cited

"American Attitudes toward Gene Editing of Human Embryos, 2016." Gale Opposing

Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2017. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/UKSJOU971288492/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid

=0850eb89. Accessed 11 Dec. 2019.

Anderson, Ryan T. "Just Because We Can Create Genetically Modified Babies Doesn't

Mean We Should." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CRQQSZ281682066/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid

=7aad7444. Accessed 16 Dec. 2019. Originally published as "Just Because We Can Create

Genetically Modified Babies Doesn't Mean We Should," The Daily Signal, 17 Dec. 2018.

"Designer Babies." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/PC3010999192/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=e01c

8e94. Accessed 3 Dec. 2019. (1)

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"Designer Babies." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/OQUDOH314486632/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xi

d=998c14fa. Accessed 9 Dec. 2019. (2)

Poore, Michael. "The Designer Baby Business Violates Christian Principles." Designer

Babies, edited by Clayton Farris Naff, Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010850214/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=2df4

516e. Accessed 16 Dec. 2019. Originally published as "Baby Shopping: The Clash of

Worldviews in Bioethics," http://www.humanitas.org, 2007.